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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26379019">Skull And Crow in The Reapers Game</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainParisStarr/pseuds/CaptainParisStarr'>CaptainParisStarr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5, Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU Crossover, M/M, No Persona, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:21:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,240</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26379019</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainParisStarr/pseuds/CaptainParisStarr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryuji did not survive the explosions that sank Shido's Cruiser; instead he wakes up in Shibuya's Scramble Crossing with a timer flashing on his palm, and Goro Akechi telling him that they are both dead, and that they need to work together to survive this Reapers Game they found themselves in.</p><p>Only problem is, even if they both survive the week, it is unlikely they will both be restored back to life.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro/Sakamoto Ryuji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Day 1- The Pact</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Tagged for Major Character Death just to cover my ass because both Ryuji and Akechi are technically dead; but aside from players being erased by Noise, no one is going to die during the course of the story.</p><p>Also, please note that Neku, Shiki, Joshua, Beat, and Rhyme will not appear in this story. The only characters from TWEWY who will appear are Reapers, mostly of the Support variety, and possibly a handful of Shop Clerks.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ryuji’s eyes slowly slid open, and he blinked as he looked around him; the last thing he remembered was racing to lower a lifeboat on Shido’s Cruiser, so what was he doing in the Scramble Crossing?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” A familiar voice barked out roughly from behind him, and he hastily scrambled to his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akechi? But you…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Died. Yes, I did. So apparently did you.” The detective looked around with a groan. “There’s no time to explain; make a pact with me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pact?” Things were only getting more confusing by the second, and if this pact would get him some answers, he would grit his teeth and forge it. “Fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Electricity sizzled through him, not unlike Captain Kidd using Zio inside him, and he gasped with the almost-but-not-quite pain of it; then a sharper pain flared on his palm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The eff?” He looked at the timer that had just appeared on his palm; it was counting down from ten minutes. But ten minutes until what, he did not know.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to get to the 104 building. Come on!” Akechi put his phone away, after checking something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll talk as we run. We both died on that damn cruiser; I was murdered by my Father’s cognitive vision of myself; you in the explosions caused by the ship exploding. Our…” He broke off, searching for the right word. “Energy, souls, whatever it is that makes you you, and me me, it was stored until today, when we both agreed to play The Reaper’s Game. If we win as partners, we might, just might, be restored to life.” Akechi shook his head, and stopped short, finally looking Ryuji in the eye. “No, at best only one of us will be restored to life.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only one of us?” Ryuji felt cold, despite the unusual heat of the day; it felt like June, not December.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Reapers play dirty; oh no, they will not break the rules, but they will withhold them. At best we can hope for one of us to be restored. And it needs to be you.” Akechi looked away as he began to walk once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I…” Ryuji broke off as his brain fully registered what Akechi had said. “Wait, me? You aren’t planning on betraying me now are you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Never. Not ever again. I have committed too much betrayal; I have lied, cheated, stolen, and murdered, just to maybe get a smile from a man unworthy of my efforts, even if he is my Father. I have also fallen in love, with a boy.” He smiled bitterly. “A boy devastated enough by my death; losing his best friend as well might break him beyond repair. My life is worthless; even if it was restored, what could I hope for? Life in prison, at best; more likely I’ll be killed again. Oh, I know Japan’s legal system likely won’t find me guilty enough for a death sentence, but I’ll likely be shanked by another prisoner. After being raped multiple times up the ass first, I’m certain. No, my life is worthless compared to yours. Joker will never be mine, no matter how desperately I long for it, but he needs you, now more than ever.” Akechi stopped talking, as though someone had hit a stop button, and he was silent the entire walk to the 104 building.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Joker feels the same way.” Ryuji looked up at the building as the timer vanished from his palm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m a criminal; he is a defender of justice. We are not meant to be.” A single tear slid unnoticed down Akechi’s cheek to splash on the pavement below.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>High above, Uzuki Yashiro tutted as she tallied up the players that had succeeded in finding both a partner, and a way to complete the first task.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Twelve pairs. Not bad.” Roughly a dozen potential Players were being erased; the stress of being thrown into the game, having to make a pact forcing them to trust a stranger, or a simple lack of noticing the message on their cell phone that highlighted exactly what they needed to do in order to survive proving too much for them to handle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You sound excited.” Koki Kariya sat beside her, at ease while she was tense and wiggling with excitement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s been months since we had enough Players for a real game!” She giggled, watching as Noise devoured another failure. “Our last real game was when that boy down there triggered that train conductor to go psychotic and wreck that train. Oh, that was a glorious mess! It’s a shame he will not survive to give us another.” She tutted again, almost managing to sound disappointed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This does promise to be an exciting week.” Kariya commented idly, his eyes on the boy in question; a rather cute brunet who seemed overly familiar with the bleach blond boy he had partnered with; almost as though they had known each other before death had claimed them both.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The timer gone, the rush Ryuji had felt was now fading, and he frowned at Akechi. “Wait, how did you know that coming here would remove the timer from our hands?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I received a text message from an unknown source directing me to come here. Did you not also receive a message?” He smiled at Ryuji; an uneasy mix of his Pleasant Boy persona, and his more natural ruthless, almost bloodthirsty grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ryuji pulled his phone out, deeply unsettled by Akechi’s smile, and he frowned as he found that most of the phone’s functions were locked; same as they were in the Metaverse; but he did indeed have a new text. “Go to the 104 building. You have ten minutes. Fail, and face erasure.” He read the text aloud. “Huh, I didn’t even notice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thankfully I did; erasure means more than simply being eliminated from the game.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ryuji thought about the Shadow’s he had defeated, and shuddered, wondering for the first time what happened to them when they vanished, and decided he did not want to know. “We need to win.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akechi only had time to open his mouth before Ryuji’s world shifted and fuzzed to black, fading all around him as he collapsed to the pavement, Akechi landing unconscious beside him.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Day Two- Noise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ryuji opened his eyes slowly, blinking against the glare, and found himself once more in the Scramble Crossing. “How long were we out?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Since yesterday.” Akechi was leaning against a wall nearby, his eyes gazing almost sightlessly towards Main Street.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, Ryuji stood up, and followed Akechi’s gaze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just can’t believe he’s really gone…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ann.” He watched as she wiped her cheeks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There was so much I wanted to say to Ryuji, but now I guess I never will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her companion placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and with a start Ryuji realized it was Akira Kurusu, also known as Joker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you love him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That got Ryuji’s attention, and he moved closer, staying low, not wanting to be seen just yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t bother; they are in the RG, while we are in the UG. They can neither see nor hear us.” Akechi turned away, naked pain on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, not romantically. He was a dear friend, nothing more.” They disappeared into the crowd, heading away from Ryuji, and when he tried to follow, he collided with an invisible barrier.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you want to pass, defeat three Noise where I can see you.” A tall man wearing a red hoodie appeared before him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are these Noise?” But the man did not answer, so he wandered back to where Akechi was waiting. “How am I supposed to fight…?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was your fee?” Akechi met Ryuji’s eyes for the first time since suggesting a Pact between them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ryuji did not need to ask Akechi what he meant; a fee had been taken from each of them before they had been accepted as Players in this Game.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They took Captain Kidd.” Ryuji laughed bitterly. “I have never felt so lost as I feel now without his presence in my mind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At least you only had one Persona to lose. My Price was both Robin Hood and Loki. We are both bereft of our power to fight… wait.” Akechi had slid his hands into his pockets, and he drew one out with a surprised look on his face. “Pins? What are these?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have some as well!” Ryuji found his own stash.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you suppose that we are meant to fight these Noise with these pins?” Akechi lifted one to his eye for a closer look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, maybe. But how?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ryuji was interrupted by his phone chiming. “Defeat the pig noise in AMX. You have three hours; fail, and face erasure.” He gasped as a sharp pain flamed across his palm. “The effing timer is back!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The quickest way to AMX is straight through Center Street; didn’t that man say something about the barrier lifting if we defeat three Noise?” Akechi dropped the pin back down, and instinct had him tapping a black pin with a white pattern; his Player Pin. “I see them!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Ryuji copied Akechi, and the air flickered around him, almost like he was in an old movie, and floating shapes appeared all around him. “Let’s give this a try!” He looked around, selecting the weakest looking symbol.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akechi disappeared, and yet he could still feel him nearby. “The pins react to your thoughts!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, and Ryuji grabbed a pin that tingled as his fingers closed around it; next thing he knew the monsters that had appeared when Akechi had vanished; were they Noise?; were struck by bolts of lightning, clearly taking damage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He attacked again and again, rolling, ducking, and dodging whenever the lightning bolt pin needed recharging; none of the others would respond to him, only that one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Only the pin that mirrored Captain Kidd’s Zio attack; he knew that was no coincidence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the monsters tripped him, raising a clawed hand to slash when it suddenly fizzled and faded, vanishing before his eyes. He tapped the pin one last time, and the final monster was vanquished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shibuya reset around him, and Akechi reappeared. “It would appear as though this plane is split when we engage in battle. We are fighting in the same space and yet, we are not.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I noticed.” Ryuji activated the Player Pin once more. “Two more battles to go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have this.” Akechi smiled, brilliant and yet somehow uncertain, and Ryuji’s stomach somersaulted inside him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, we do.” He paused, looking back at Akechi. “I could only use one of my pins.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Odd. I had no trouble using all of them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh. I think I might know why.” Akechi raised an eyebrow, but did not cut Ryuji off. “The pin I used was a thunderbolt; not unlike Zio. I’ve only ever been able to fight with physical attacks and electricity; but your Persona have a wider variety of skills.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes that is true. How odd I did not notice that for myself.” Akechi shook his head, clearing his mind as the second battle was triggered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This time was easier, as they both now knew how to use the pins; however the third fight provided an unexpected challenge in the form of lightning-resistant Noise, and Ryuji ended up mostly keeping them occupied while Akechi finished them off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the end of the battle, they were both aching and dripping with sweat. “Shit! That did not go well at all!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wall clear.” Red Hoodie reappeared, and nodded towards them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, it appears that we can now access Center Street. Shall we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Ryuji hurried after Akechi, wanting to just get this task over with. “Wait, what did you mean by UG and RG?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The RG is the Realground; the land of normal, living Humans. We are in the UG or Underground, a reality superimposed over the RG that is invisible to normal Humans. Only other Players, and the Reapers themselves, can see us. Oh, no, wait there was something else.” He stopped, glanced around, and nodded. Walking towards a store, he gestured towards a symbol matching the one on the Player Pins. “This should render us visible while inside the stores so we can shop, and buy food.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, goody, undead shopping. Just what I always wanted.” He groaned, glancing around, but neither Ann nor Akira was anywhere to be seen. “Damn, we lost them!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For the best, most likely.” Akechi resumed walking towards AMX. “We need to find that Pig Noise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is a Pig Noise anyway?” Ryuji asked, almost idly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, but I’m certain we will find out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They walked in silence, entering the AMX barrier after handing over a Pin representing 100 yen to another Red Hoodie, and clearing a second wall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They split up, both scanning the area, and the Noise left them alone as long as they left the Noise alone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Over here! Above the store awning!” Ryuji waited until Akechi had rejoined him, then touched the green symbol that resembled a Pig Snout.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Noise that appeared was oddly cute, and Ryuji was distracted enough by that fact that it escaped the first time they attempted to fight; however the second time they attacked relentlessly, and the three piggies were vanquished with relative ease.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pins appeared in Ryuji’s hand as the Timer vanished, and he barely had time to pocket them before everything faded to black.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please visit my profile for more information on how to support me as a writer.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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